New sound files posted

I can't believe I haven't posted anything here since early October. Well, I've been very busy at work, and preparing for the song recital on December 4th (which was very successful). I posted a couple of mp3's from that over at the usual place, - for now just the Beethoven sonata I played (Op. 90 in E minor), maybe later some of the songs, if Anja agrees to let me post them.

I will try to post a few things here in the near future, but no promises. I guess I do owe some sort of Christmas letter, though with my vacation reports over the past year, it will probably be shorter than the past couple of years.

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How are you feeling? - national differences in the perception of personal health

" Wie geht es dir ?" "How are you feeling?" These questions are probably heard in every culture. The answers, and how mild illness is dealt with, varies between Germany and America. Mir geht es schlecht - I'm not feeling well. Really. Since Thursday I've been lying in bed with a low fever, racking cough, stuffed up nose and sneezing. A typical February complaint. What do I have? For an American, the answer is probably simple - either a cold or the flu, perhaps with a touch of bronchitis. For a German the answer is not quite so clear cut. The German is aware that real flu (influenza) is characterized by a sudden high fever, chills, and aches and pains - in addition to the typical upper respiratory symptoms. I don't think I have influenza - my fever, at around 100°, just isn't high enough. And I don't have any aches and pains. But a cold? Well, does a cold come with a fever? It might, I guess, in English. But the Germans have a special word fo

Don't Be a Fafner Developer! I'm going to talk about a type of developer you should not want to be - a Fafner developer. What do I mean with this expression? First, I need to digress. Fafner is a character in Wagner's massive 4-opera "Ring of the Nibelungs" cycle. He and his brother build the gods' castle Valhalla. In payment they receive a vast treasure (the Rhinegold), which includes a magic helmet (the Tarnhelm) and a ring of power (the basic idea should be clear to you if you've ever read the Lord of the Rings). Fafner kills his brother, takes the treasure off to the woods, uses the Tarnhelm to turn himself into a dragon, and settles down on top of his hoard. Much time passes. Finally a hero emerges who is brave enough to take on Fafner (Siegfried). The evil dwarf Mime tries to warn Fafner of the approaching danger. Fafner's response? "Ich lieg und besitz…lass mich schlafen" (I lie here and possess…let me sleep). Of course we know what h

Vienna

Introduction Instead of a chronological account of our time in Vienna I'm going to organize this by themes, in the hope that it will be more interesting and more useful (should anyone happen to find this blog). We landed at the Vienna airport Friday morning, and flew back out Monday evening, so we had nearly four full days to enjoy. I had only been here for a one-day business trip a year ago; Anja auditioned for some artists' agencies a number of years ago, but was only here for a day or two, and mostly concerned with singing, not with sightseeing. Our previous impressions were thus very limited. Our hotel, the Hotel-Pension Shermin Apartments proved an excellent choice. The room was modern, clean and relatively spacious, and most important – extremely quiet. The personnel was friendly and helpful. It's located only a five-minute walk from the subway station Karlsplatz, and directly next to a tram stop. Before our trip we ordered a Vienna Card for each of us online.

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